"Hey! I'm hungry!"

Tricia, Lida, and Vasily look around, but they can't find the owner of the voice. "Yeah, over here, guys!" a girl yells loudly, waving a Dixie cup. She has stringy reddish brown hair and she's wearing a dingy gray sweatshirt with a red heart on the front and black distressed jeans. "Gimmie a quarter or a hundred dollar bill, whatever you got, I'm starving!"

"Little Allie?" Tricia squints at her and gasps. She waves the adults forward. "Come on, you two, we should help her out...as in, give her our leftovers. Like she's said before, thirteen cents ain't shit when you're famished. I was besties with her on the streets. I didn't think I'd see her ever again!"

"That's such a generous idea, sweetie," Lida murmurs, looking up at Vasily, who nods in agreement. She lets Tricia lead her and her fiancé to Allie, who's sitting against a graffiti-covered brick wall near some trash cans.

"Yo, Al, I told ya not to beg!" Tricia lectures her gently.

"Yeah...I remember you in your white pants, black boots, mismatched socks, an army green jacket, and tangled long, blonde hair...too bad you ain't by my side no more. Matter of fact, neither is Raiza, the kid I've been watchin' for a while now. What the fuck happened to you, bitch, Daddy Warbucks adopted you?"

Tricia shrugs. "Nah. More like Mama Not-That-Rich took me in. Sorry I disappeared on you..."

"A lot of people been doin' that lately."

"Raiza...isn't that Blanca's kid?" Lida asks, and Allie nods, tucking a lock of her greasy hair behind her ear. "They're living with one of our friends...Blanca's main man, in fact."

"Oh, I see. Well, glad to know they're just fine now." Allie eyes the bag that Vasily is holding. "Got any food in there for me?" Her belly growls to prove her point. She's clearly famished.

He looks at it forlornly and Lida nudges him. "That poor girl needs it more than we do," she says.

"Yeah, sorry, man." Allie wiggles her fingers toward it. "Hand it over."

He obliges and she takes it with an eager expression on her face. She reaches inside and takes out three containers of fried rice, scallops, chow fun, and pan fried noodles. "I hope you like Chinese," he tells her.

"I love it! I haven't had this in, I don't know how long! Thank you."

Lida, Vasily, and Tricia chuckle in unison. "You're welcome," Lida says as she rips one of them open. "Enjoy!"

"No offense, Trish, but this is better than the carrot and pastry you got from Whole Foods!"

"I was gonna pay for it later," Tricia mumbles, her eyes wide and full of alarm. She glances between Lida and Vasily. "I kept a journal full of my records."

"It's okay, honey," Lida assures her.

Allie's grin fades. "Shit, I need a spoon for the rice...chopsticks to pick up the noodles and scallops..."

"Uh..." Vasily looks around. "You know what, my mother and some friends are waiting for us at Shake Shack. They'll have utensils for ya."

"Are you suggesting I come with you people?" Her expression hopeful, she stands up.

"Yeah!" Tricia's eyes light up with joy. "You deserve to have your lunch warm...and I'll even buy you a cheeseburger. Red, my adoptive mother, she just gave me my allowance for helping her out with dishes and laundry this past week. Ten bucks, dude."

"Look at you, Miss Moneybags! Putting that cash to good use. I really appreciate what you're doing for me."

"It's the least I could do."

They start walking to the restaurant with Tricia between Lida and Allie. Vasily is on the other side of Lida. "So, what happened to that flip phone you were charging?" Allie wants to know. She slings her arm around the blonde.

Tricia grins, pulling it out of her pocket. "Still have it!"

"Mega cool!" Allie chuckles. "I'm just wondering, how did we get separated for these past two years anyway?"

"I was coming back from another one of my errands, listening to music on my headphones on the bus. It was my first time taking it, too. The sky was pitch black with only the moon and random streetlamps to light my way...I got off at the wrong stop. I wish you'd been able to come with me, but you needed to stay in our usual location, so I get that. I tried to go back and find a bus route, but I ended up on the freeway for ten to twenty minutes, searching for a damn crosswalk or bus stop...ugh, I was so stressed out! I kept putting my thumb up and waving until a lady...Ma...found me hitchhiking! She asked if I was lost and where my folks were."

Allie's jaw drops and her eyes grow big. "That's so dangerous, it could've been anyone..."

"I know! It's also illegal, I just found out, so I'm glad I didn't get arrested and sent to juvie! I was very lost and the freeway seemed endless, so next time I get off the wrong stop, I'm calling a cab right there at an actual bus stop! Or Ma, if she ain't workin'."

"That's a better idea," Allie murmurs.

"Thank goodness it was Ma who discovered you there!" Vasily exclaims.

"Yeah! Why is it against the law...if you're legit lost?" Tricia scoffs. "Like, I don't wanna be on the friggin' highway either!"

"I guess they're trying to keep people out of danger! Hitchhiking isn't really safe and it's a distraction to drivers as well," Lida responds.

"So, what happened next?" Allie questions Tricia.

"I told Ma I was homeless and I asked her to take me to our normal spot. She drove me there, but we didn't find you or our shit..." Tricia gives her friend a reproving stare.

"I was hunting for you!"

"Anyway, we searched the streets, but it was so dark...I planned to sleep on a park bench overnight and look for you in the morning. Ma was having none of that...I then told her my situation, that my mom and stepdad were no good, and I asked if she wanted me to spend the night at her house and if she could feed me breakfast. I had dinner already. She said she couldn't just do that since we were strangers to each other. So she talked to some higher-ups, like called the police, and they got CPS to put me into a safe facility. When we found you, I begged her to put me with you in the same place, but she couldn't. She didn't have that power, anyway...you were placed in another foster home, I guess..."

Allie nods uncomfortably. "Yeah, with some ugly pedophile! He convinced the corrupt cop that he was a nice guy. I was eventually able to escape his clutches. Killed the bastard after serving him poisoned tea. I thought he'd come after me, so I needed to prevent that."

Tricia high-fives her. "Great job!"

"Thanks! More about your mom and how you got off your addiction, please!"

"Child Protective Services was able to get me into a group home where they aimed to take me off drugs forever. They put a restraining order on my old supplier, Mendez, told me I'd be kicked out if I voluntarily met up with him again to get stoned, and he'd be arrested the second he showed his disgusting face near me. Ma would visit me there sometimes, we got on well...and about eight months later, she started fostering me and then we both discovered we were always meant to be mother and daughter!"

"That's such a sweet story!" Allie comments, smiling.

"I never forgot you," Tricia assures her.

"I didn't either." The tweens link arms and continue strolling close together. "I'm just ecstatic we reunited!"

"Girl, hard same!"

"Where'd you put the dead guys?"

"You don't want to know, Nicky," Galina says, combing her fingers through the young woman's blonde hair. Thin streaks of mascara run down her cherubic cheeks; her head is laying on one of Galina's thighs while Shani takes the other and rests with her eyes closed. She's been quiet for a while now. They're both wrapped in blue blankets that Galina has brought with her. The ladies then reach out toward each other over Galina's lap to join hands.

Vasily drives them to Galina's place with Lida in the passenger seat. He's playing gentle music and holding his fiancée's hand over the console. Tricia and Allie have taken the middle row and they're chattering, but not too loudly. They were happy to meet Nicky and Shani, but they want to give the women some space. "Okay, well I think you should know I'm like a car wreck on the side of the highway." Nicky can barely keep herself awake. She yawns loudly as her eyes roll to the back of her skull.

"No, you're not!"

"It's true...I tried to get clean six times...this will be my seventh and hopefully last...but withdrawal is a pain in the motherfucking ass. The puking, the sweating...the Advil, which tastes horrible sometimes...I only took Molly this morning, which is lesser than H, so not a great replacement. Dope wasn't available the last time I wanted to take something."

"I'll help you through it all, my girl," Galina promises her. "I've even got rubber bands for you so you can tie your hair back." Shani flinches suddenly in her sleep but relaxes slowly while mumbling under her breath. "Whatever you two need, okay?" She rubs Shani's back in calming circles. "Tomorrow is the first full day of your brand new lives. You won't touch another drug again, is that clear?"

"Shani's gonna follow that rule, she's not a junkie like me. I can't imagine why...she's been wandering the streets and then living in the brothel for eighteen months. For me, I discovered her in an alley around Halloween. I needed some smack and we connected so well...she sold her body with me. She was tryin' to earn enough moolah for her own bachelorette pad."

"Well, darling, there are other ways to get cash."

"Why'd you even come, anyway? You said you were done after you caught me with H a third time. Don't Russians hate baseball?"

Galina's heart aches with guilt. "They do, but I realized that you deserve another chance. Losing you was just...I really thought you were gone forever. You scared me!"

"Sorry," Nicky mumbles. "When you shove someone away, they'll leave."

"I didn't mean you should literally disappear and never return...I should be the one apologizing."

Nicky sniffles and blinks rapidly. "Yeah."

"When you're all better after the free rehab center I'm sending you to, I'll score you both interviews as cafeteria workers. You'll just make food and serve it to the students at Martin Van Buren High, where I'm a cook and in charge of the kitchen."

"Red, you got no idea if your boss will like us. We may have to suck off the principal or somethin'."

"No, neither one of you are going to do that."

"Besides, Shani needs a green card to work there. She plans to get one...she'll have to say she was seeking political asylum here, because it's true. It's fucking crazy in Egypt. She'll need a lawyer."

"That's wonderful. I'll get her an attorney so she'll never have to be banished from this country. I know how immigration works...I did it back in the late seventies. She can maybe be a cleaning lady and also babysit in the meantime so she'd only earn cash."

"She'd be amazing at both jobs!"

Galina beams. "I'm pleased to hear that. As for you, I will help you find some nice, professional-looking clothes to wear and you can come into the office with me the minute you're ready to work. I'm going to make sure you have no free time to get high...not even a cigarette."

"My health will improve in a week." Nicky groans. "Weed is like, nothing! I'm twenty-three..."

"Find another addiction that isn't so dangerous," Galina suggests. "You can snack on candy...I'll give you the paper so you can do the crossword puzzles in there. Read a book. You need to stimulate your brain. Shani does as well. Maybe you can retake some Psychology courses at a community college to refresh your memory."

"Someday, yeah…"

Galina smiles down at Nicky and touches her cheek fondly. "I'll be there all the way to support your dreams. You always have a home with me."

Nicky beams, but her face crumples and she cries happy tears.

Early morning sunlight gleams through the white lace curtains and spills over the bedspread. Blanca is sitting up against the headboard, with Diablo's sweatshirt falling off one of her shoulders in a sexy manner. What has his attention the most, though, are the red bruises around Blanca's knee and the nasty scrape on the side of her calf once she rolls up her pant leg to her thigh. He presses a bag of ice to her contusions as he holds her gaze. She grins and puts her bandaged hand over his. He kisses her knuckles, the scratches on her face, and then her soft lips. He's missed her and her daughters so much, and he's incredibly happy that they're back.

Blanca hums in contentment. "Gracias, querido."

"De nada, mi reina." Diablo's thumb strokes her jaw as they close their eyes with their foreheads pressed together. "Vuelvo enseguida, ¿de acuerdo?"

I'll be right back, okay?

She nods, her pleasant expression still not going away. "Okay."

On his way to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, he beams at the sight of Raiza and Laronne chattering as they play with their toys. The little girl has her dolls and his son's action figures sitting on top of the Barbie motorhome.

"Where you takin' em, guys?"

"The dream house you got me, Mister Diablo," Raiza answers with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, Daddy, then we're gonna play Candyland!" Laronne pipes up.

He gives the children a thumbs-up. "All right!"

"Yay!" they shout in unison.

Diablo then gets a few large Band-Aids and returns to Blanca. After opening them, he puts them on her injuries and she gives him a grateful beam. Noticing the ice has melted, he takes it back to his freezer with her limping along beside him. He walks slowly to match her pace, not caring that the ice has dripped a bit on the floor. Once it's put away, they share an embrace and kiss passionately.

Then, he turns on the television for the game and helps her make cheesy nachos with salsa and guacamole.

"Shit, I'm overdressed, ain't I?" Maritza asks nervously as Flaca lets her inside the Gonzales apartment.

"Nah you're perfect!" Flaca gives her mouth and temple a gentle peck. She puts an arm around Maritza's waist. "I'll change into my plaid dress, cute lacy black long sleeved shirt, and black tights!" Her magenta lips purse and then smack in the mirror as the girlfriends stroll past it.

"¡Gracias!"

"¡De nada!"

"¡Hola, Maritza!" Theresa calls out from another part of the place.

"¡Hola!" She turns back to Flaca. "Where's your mom?"

"Sewing, dude."

Maritza frowns in sympathy. "She gotta work even on a Sunday?"

Flaca shrugs. "Valentine's Day is comin' up, chiquita...girls and ladies need their vestidos mended. Whatcha wanna do for it?"

"El día del amor, well...maybe go out for pizza and dance at some teen club or something."

"There is a place I know of! Debbie and Nita, the couple who brought us to search for y'all, decorated this abandoned building and they run a bi and lesbian girls' club, like a juice bar. Poussey and Fransizka go all the time...we could double date with 'em if you wanted to!"

Maritza grins. "Sure, that sounds fun!"

"Yo, shopping spree?" Flaca points to Maritza's bag of clothes and glances inside of it with a quizzical expression.

"Sí, hermosa."

"How come no receipt? Looks like the tags been ripped off, too."

"They all fit me and I had a discount, which is why I could afford it all! I felt like I deserved somethin' like this after my hard work."

"You sure as shit do!"

"...and then I came across some brown, sticky sludge that I hope was melted chocolate," Blanca finishes explaining.

Lila wrinkles her nose, "Oh, god, I do too!" The other ladies verbally concur. They're all at the American Dream Diner, catching up with Blanca. They've heard all of her tales through letters until a few days ago, but since they were never able to write her, she's had no idea of what was going on in their lives. Their reunion had started with them gathering Blanca into a group hug and shrieking ecstatically.

"That's so shitty you had to dumpster dive, B...ugh!" Aleida shudders.

"I can't even imagine." Karla gives her best friend a sympathetic look and rubs her back in soothing circles. "Losing your babies momentarily...now that must've been an even worse nightmare!"

"Oh, it was! At least when I dug through the trash, tenía mis bebés conmigo."

I had my babies with me.

Margarita nods with a gentle smile. "We're just glad y'all are back in one piece now."

"¡Sí, he extrañado a mi compañera de trabajo favorita y una de mis mejores amigas también!" Gloria beams and plays with Blanca's hair a little. "Work wasn't the same without you. Red's cool and all, but you're more my equal, if you catch my drift."

Yes, I have missed my co-worker and one of my best friends, too!

"Mm-hm, Glo, I get what you're sayin'."

"You're my best Friendly's employee, Blanca...there's seriously no one better!" Diane praises her. "Sweetheart, you're hired again anytime."

"¡Muchas gracias! I can come back, but under a different name, if that's okay. I'll have to tell Red this as well."

"Sure! That's totally understandable." Diane murmurs.

"Yeah!" Gloria chimes in. She lowers her voice. "Still Soleia, right?"

Smiling at the women, Blanca bobs her head up and down. She sighs and then frowns, thinking a bit more about it. "Friendly's is a chain...I can't go by something else on the payroll, actually. It's risky to work as Blanca Flores, so I shouldn't...lo siento, Diane."

The older brunette gives her a sympathetic look. "It's quite alright, I get it."

"He's not gonna just show up at the school...so I should be good there. As for the vieja...she fired Diablo, and I won't go back either. Gracias a dios he has his construction work to fall back on!"

"You can have a job at my bodega," Gloria offers.

Blanca grins, feeling a bit more hopeful. "Aw, gracias, amiga."

"¡De nada!"

"Ay dios, I've missed you all, too. So, what have you chicas been up to lately?" Blanca asks. "Sé que Theresa está con Flaca...but she's gonna come soon. Debbie and Nita just took the girls on a road trip to find us, which was a pretty heroic mission, if you ask me...and Diablo did the same thing with his son in tow!"

I know Theresa is with Flaca.

"My niece Janae would've gone if not for her running," Alison mutters. "I went on a long-ass drive with Alex, Lida, Franny, her sister Lorna, and our friend Joy Hayes, all the way down the East Coast. We stayed in Miami, Florida for a week."

"It's a weird coincidence, too, that's where Lourdes took me. Her friends Rita and Frankie planned to hide us from Arturo, but when he found us, I had to move back here and brought the boys and Lourdes with me," Gloria says.

Blanca frowns. "Maritza's birth mom was a maid there before she got fired for stealing from the company and then she was deported to Colombia. It's strange...but I hope you girls had fun."

"We did!" Alison confirms.

"Wait, you have a friend with the last name of Hayes?"

"Yes, why?"

"I, uh...I was street-mates with her sister Cindy...she actually helped me get a job at Levine Home for the Aged!"

"Really?"

Blanca nods eagerly. "You should let Joy know."

"I will! Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

The rest of the group is looking back-and-forth between Blanca and Alison with interest. Aleida nudges the latter. "Don't you wanna tell her about...¿ya sabes?"

"Yeah, um...this sex worker came up to Lida and I just before our trip and she asked if we wanted to join her business," Alison says. "Of course we told her no thank you, but gosh, she was so young. We tried to help her, but she didn't give us any personal information. We just described her to Charles and he's been watching out for her, but no one has seen her around since. I thought it could've been Michelle because she was Latina and shorter than me, but it obviously wasn't...she's thankfully working at a Starbucks instead of a brothel."

"Oh, wow, pobrecita," Blanca murmurs. "If my daughter was involved in that sorta shit..." She can't finish her sentence; she doesn't even want to think about it. She wouldn't know what to do with herself. It would leave her shaken to her core.

Karla squeezes her hand. "I know. Such a lousy situation! Maritza's safe with you now, though, you don't have a thing to worry about, okay?"

"She could've wound up like that...if the girls and Nita hadn't found her."

"Well, she didn't!" Gloria exclaims. "Mira, I know it's scary, pero no pienses en eso, te volverás loca."

Don't think about that, you'll drive yourself bonkers.

"Intentaré no hacerlo," Blanca mumbles.

I'll try not to.

"Yo, bitch, you hear what happened with your man?"

"Of course I did, Lei, he told me."

"Damn, word travels fast!" Lila comments.

Blanca nods, her teeth clenched and jaw set now. "It's so god damn upsetting! These white assholes, they just...they think they can mess with us just 'cause of the color of our skin. Es como...no somos nada para ellos. Diablo, Laronne..." She gestures to Karla. "Y tú y tu marido...y yo...mis hijas...and they rip off your hijab, Alison...none of it's fair."

It's like...we're nothing to them. You and your husband...and I...my daughters

"I know it isn't," Diane mutters.

Karla sighs loudly. "Gracias a Dios that Litvack and Dean are in jail, but we still gotta get Jack, Linda, and Mendez in there, too." She squirms uncomfortably and rises from her seat. "Tengo qué usar el baño."

I have to use the bathroom.

"The joys of pregnancy," Lila states in a sarcastic manner as Karla rushes off.

"Mm-hm, recuerdo." Aleida's tone is bitter.

I remember.

"Same," the others agree. "Espera, she mentioned Dean being behind bars...has anyone seen him around before he was caught? Don't be afraid to tell me...I should be warned." Blanca tenses, bracing herself for the answer. She didn't want to ask Diablo, but now she's ready.

"Sí," Gloria mumbles. "Entró en la bodega que dirijo con Lourdes. I wasn't there. She kept saying she didn't know where you and your girls were. Antes de eso, invadió el apartamento de Diablo cuando no había nadie en casa."

He came into the bodega I run with Lourdes. Before that, he invaded Diablo's apartment when no one was home.

Blanca's heart begins hammering faster than normal. "Did he ruin anything there?" Her friends appear just as panicked as she feels. "Or trash my man's place?"

"No...in fact, Charles and Officer Donaldson arrested him once Lourdes called 'em!"

"Oh, bueno, pero uno de sus elegantes abogados lo sacará pronto."

Oh good, but one of his fancy lawyers will get him out soon enough.

Margarita gives Blanca a sympathetic look. "We'll always protect you, okay?"

Blanca nods as Karla returns to their table. "Gracias."

"De nada."

"You ain't lived until you've tried street style Mexican corn," Flaca murmurs, pointing at Maritza. They're at a nice Italian restaurant called La Fontana's with beautiful lights and eating the least expensive food there, even though Maritza could take them both out with her excessive cash.

Maritza giggles. "That's what you said about Salma Hayek movies, especially Frida!"

"Exactamente, ¡pruébalo!"

Exactly, give it a try!

"I will! Maybe tomorrow?"

"Don't you gotta work?"

Maritza shakes her head, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. "So, what are we, Flaca? Just friends, or...?"

"¿Qué? We've surpassed amigas a long time ago, Mari."

She relaxes. "Okay, good...'cause I just wanted to make sure you ain't forcing yourself to bésarme."

kiss me

Flaca shakes her head and meets Maritza's gaze. "Nah, I'm feelin' you, girl!"

"Good, I'm relieved!" When the check comes around and they're stuffed to the gills, they both unzip their purses and take their wallets out. Maritza is horrified upon realizing she had forgotten to hide most of what she's made this week. About twelve hundred dollar bills spill onto the table and she hurriedly pushes them back into her bag. It's too late, though, judging by the stunned expression on Flaca's face. Maritza starts panicking inside and trembling slightly, but she does her best to keep her breathing under control.

"Yo, that's about two thousand bucks worth," she finally blurts out. "I had no idea maids earned that much."

"Vee gave me a raise," Maritza lies. "Anyway-"

Flaca narrows her eyes in confusion. "You expect me to believe that?"

"What am I, on trial?" Maritza hisses.

"Baby, I don't even get more than one grand selling my fake LSD," she whispers.

"I did an excellent job...I even got paid extra to babysit kids while I was homeless," Maritza insists.

"Why do you look like you got busted for somethin'? That's neat...ain't nothin' to be horrified about!"

"You're right!" Maritza chokes out a laugh and reapplies her purple lipstick. She gestures to her mouth. "You like this color on me?"

Flaca's eyes twinkle and she grins. "Sí, mi amor, very much so!"

"Hey, did you know I once had to stick toilet paper so far up my hoo-ha that I feared it wouldn't come out? Having your period when you're on the streets is awful!"

"I'm sure it is, that really sucks!" Flaca sets her chin up on her fist with her elbow on the table. "Did your mami get tampons eventually?"

"She was able to, yeah. That's why all this dinero is a wonderful thing! Look, I'll pay for both of us, okay?" Maritza fishes out a few twenties.

"You better!" Flaca teases. "Gracias."

"De nada."

At the end of the night, the youngest children are in bed and Maritza's date with Flaca is almost finished. Diablo opens a beer bottle and passes it to Blanca. She sighs with relief as she takes a swig. It's her second drink, as she had a margarita with him during the Super Bowl. She hasn't had the pleasure of feeling buzzed in quite a while. They clink their bottles together. "¡Salud!" they chorus jovially.

Cheers!

Then, they cuddle on his couch, her legs squeezed in between his and his muscular arms wrapped around her as they occasionally sip their beverages and listen to the soft music playing from the radio. This is heaven. "The stereotype about homeless people is that they're addicts, but the whole time out there, I'd been stone cold sober. Maybe it would've been better if I was high or really fuckin' drunk."

"Mm-hm." They share a smile and Blanca gazes tenderly at him. His chocolate brown eyes stare lovingly into her own as he strokes her cheek. "I love holding you, mi hermosa paloma...¡estoy tan feliz de tenerte de vuelta conmigo!"

my beautiful dove...I'm so happy to have you back with me!

"Ay mi Diablo," she breathes out and there's a certain tingling down below. When her man gets extra romantic like this, it really turns her on. "Es mi sueño hecho realidad...las chicas y yo tenemos un lugar seguro aquí."

It's my dream come true...the girls and I have a safe place here.

"Sí..." He kisses her gently, so deeply, as if he wants to caress her soul. She can't get enough of him. "It's what I've always wanted, too!"

Blanca glances away shyly. "Don't you ever think I'm a burden, though?"

"No." Diablo smooths his hand down her locks a few times and his mouth grazes her temple. "Una carga es algo que estás obligado a llevar en contra de tu voluntad. I freely choose to be a part of your life and that means you're not a burden to me."

A burden is something that you are forced to carry against your will.

She relaxes against him and beams as her heart skips a beat and expands. "Eres asombroso, de verdad." Diablo always has a way of making Blanca feel amazing, even though they haven't even made love yet. She leans over and kisses his new dove tattoo. She's so touched that he'd gotten it because of her. "¿Podemos bailar esta canción?"

You're amazing, truly. Can we dance to this song?

"Por supuesto, mi amor," he tells her with a grin. They get up and he leads her to the middle of the floor.

Of course, my love

The moment, she thinks, is perfect, he's swaying her back and forth, from side to side, as they dance together to the pretty song that's playing. His hands are around her waist. "I love your warm breath on my chin," he murmurs and she's filled with even more bliss than before. Suddenly, Diablo twirls Blanca around and she giggles. "Amo tu risa...that little sound is more beautiful than any musical note!"

I love your laugh.

She blushes. "¡Me encanta el tuyo también ! Cada parte de ti ilumina mi día."

I love yours, too! Every part of you brightens up my day.

Diablo spins her and brings her back to his chest. He holds her close and leans down to touch her lips with his own. "¡Tú eres mi vida! No puedo esperar el día de San Valentín..."

You are my life! I can't wait for Valentine's Day...

"It'll be perfect with my special hombre." Smiling, Blanca puts her hands on his shoulders and locks eyes with him. "Te quiero, guapo. I feel like I've known you forever."

I love you, handsome.

"Yo también. Oh, my sweetheart, I adore you, too." He beams and they nuzzle noses with their hands tangled in each other's thick hair. "Siempre."

Always.